This free zoo just north of downtown Manitowoc features over 200 animals, ranging from black bears and snow leopards to eagles and a prairie dog town that can occupy you for a while (they’re pretty cute.) The Lincoln Park Zoo is open seven days a week except in winter, when it’s closed on Sundays. Address:…

Since Manitowoc is “Wisconsin’s Maritime Capital” (even one of the high schools has the nickname “Shipbuilders”), it’s only fitting that the Wisconsin Maritime Museum would be located in the city. Holding one of the nation’s most extensive collections of Great Lakes maritime artifacts and history, the museum prominently features the USS Cobia, a World War…

The Rahr West Art Museum sits just north of downtown Manitowoc along northbound U.S. 10/Business 42 (8th Street) in an 1893 Queen Anne mansion. The mansion was originally built for Joseph Vilas, a successful merchant and two-time mayor of the city (UW-Madison students will recognize his name on their communication building.) A museum since 1941,…